Under proposed legislation now before Parliament, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) will be empowered to make air passenger protection regulations. Canadians will have the opportunity to provide input and participate in the CTA's public consultations.

PIAC welcomes legislation announced today by the federal Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, to strengthen Canada’s air passenger rights. Part of Bill C-49 gives the Canadian Transportation Agency an opportunity to provide Canadians with a world-leading air passenger complaint regime.

In this report, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) called for an Airline Code to champion the rights of Canadian air passengers and an Air Passenger Complaints Commissioner. The report examined current consumer protections and recourse options available to airline passengers in Canada and proposed new models which will strengthen consumer protection in the airline industry moving forward.

At the time of the transfer of control of Canadian Airlines to Air Canada, PIAC became engaged in the policy debate associated with the restructuring of the industry through its participation in a coalition of organizations under the title the Canadian Association of Airline Passengers (CAIP).

Ottawa) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, a member of the travel industry and consumer coalition the Travel Protection Initiative (TPI) that pushed for all-in price advertising for airline prices in the previous decade, expressed its satisfaction that Transport Canada will finally move ahead to implement the legislation that mandates airline regulations to provide a ticket price to passengers inclusive of all extra charges.

Today the Travel Protection Initiative, a coalition of Canada’s travel industry and consumer groups, responded to federal Transport minister’s Lawrence Cannon’s submission this week to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities that he would not bring into effect the provision of Bill C-11 passed in June of last year that would mandate that airline advertising feature an all-in price.

PIAC is a non-profit organization and charity that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumer interests, and, in particular, vulnerable consumer interests, concerning the provision of important public services.